132
Their model also offers a ‘solution to one of the barriers to promoting environmental
behaviour; namely the need to choose between hedonic and normative goals’ (Kerret
et al. 2016, p. 8). Initial findings suggest that infusing people with environmental
hope may simultaneously raise both pro-environmental behaviour (a normative
goal) and subjective well-being (a hedonic goal). Focusing on developing an individual’s environmental hope is relevant not only for formal education interventions
but also for non-formal, environmental communication campaigns.
This presentation of models of REB concentrated mainly on theories that address
internal factors, since educational interventions are concerned with developing the
individual and cultivating the individual’s attributes that may lead to active citizenship. Situational (i.e. external; contextual) factors also play a crucial role in achieving SD and a sustainable society. While adopting environmentally responsible
behaviour starts with the individual, supportive institutional, political and social
policies create the supportive climate that enables and encourages Environmental
Citizenship at the individual level (Goldman and Kadish 2012).
8.4 Implications for Educating for Environmental
Citizenship
Implementation of educational interventions to foster Environmental Citizenship
might raise false expectations to see immediate behavioural change. Hysteresis
Effect, which was first explained in the natural and exact sciences and then transferred to the social sciences, for example, to explain environmental activism
(Bozonnet 2016), points to a possible lag between the input (e.g. the educational
interventions at school) and the output (lifestyle changes including behavioural
changes). Behaviours are dependent on the cultural history that an individual must
deal and comply with (or alter). Thus, the impacts of educational programmes, as
well as other factors presented in this chapter, should be seen as history dependent
and requiring time in order to generate the outcome – the difference, or the anticipated active Environmental Citizenship. Hysteresis Effect also implies that none of
the influences are linear but rather cumulative, interdependent and complex.
While none the above described models are able to explain all the aspects of
human environmental behaviour, they imply important suggestions for the practice
of Education for Environmental Citizenship:
• Focusing solely on promoting environmental knowledge may be considered
ineffective and, in some aspects, even a controversial strategy. Considering this,
Education for Environmental Citizenship programmes should be action based,
i.e. provide the opportunity to experience and change something and get emotionally involved and see the effects.
• Social norms seem to be another important factor. In line with this, community-,
group- and place-based programmes seem to be more effective than strategies
limited to involving individual school students only within the framework of
school.
D. Goldman et al.
Their model also offers a ‘solution to one of the barriers to promoting environmental
behaviour; namely the need to choose between hedonic and normative goals’ (Kerret
et al. 2016, p. 8). Initial findings suggest that infusing people with environmental
hope may simultaneously raise both pro-environmental behaviour (a normative
goal) and subjective well-being (a hedonic goal). Focusing on developing an individual’s environmental hope is relevant not only for formal education interventions
but also for non-formal, environmental communication campaigns.
This presentation of models of REB concentrated mainly on theories that address
internal factors, since educational interventions are concerned with developing the
individual and cultivating the individual’s attributes that may lead to active citizenship. Situational (i.e. external; contextual) factors also play a crucial role in achieving SD and a sustainable society. While adopting environmentally responsible
behaviour starts with the individual, supportive institutional, political and social
policies create the supportive climate that enables and encourages Environmental
Citizenship at the individual level (Goldman and Kadish 2012).
8.4 Implications for Educating for Environmental
Citizenship
Implementation of educational interventions to foster Environmental Citizenship
might raise false expectations to see immediate behavioural change. Hysteresis
Effect, which was first explained in the natural and exact sciences and then transferred to the social sciences, for example, to explain environmental activism
(Bozonnet 2016), points to a possible lag between the input (e.g. the educational
interventions at school) and the output (lifestyle changes including behavioural
changes). Behaviours are dependent on the cultural history that an individual must
deal and comply with (or alter). Thus, the impacts of educational programmes, as
well as other factors presented in this chapter, should be seen as history dependent
and requiring time in order to generate the outcome – the difference, or the anticipated active Environmental Citizenship. Hysteresis Effect also implies that none of
the influences are linear but rather cumulative, interdependent and complex.
While none the above described models are able to explain all the aspects of
human environmental behaviour, they imply important suggestions for the practice
of Education for Environmental Citizenship:
• Focusing solely on promoting environmental knowledge may be considered
ineffective and, in some aspects, even a controversial strategy. Considering this,
Education for Environmental Citizenship programmes should be action based,
i.e. provide the opportunity to experience and change something and get emotionally involved and see the effects.
• Social norms seem to be another important factor. In line with this, community-,
group- and place-based programmes seem to be more effective than strategies
limited to involving individual school students only within the framework of
school.
D. Goldman et al.